Diplomatic slight: Pakistani High Commission official detained in New Delhi

ISLAMABAD: Only days after what was being tipped as headway in thorny relations between Pakistan and India, with New Delhi accepting Islamabad’s demand to inspect Indian hydropower projects on Chenab basin, a Pakistani High Commission official on Sunday was arrested and unlawfully detained in New Delhi .

According to diplomatic sources, the official was detained for several hours and forced to sign certain papers.

Islamabad took up the matter with the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.

After Pakistan lodged strong protest over the treatment of the High Commission official, he was released by New Delhi.

Diplomatic sources said that arresting the official was a violation of the Vienna Convention and Pakistan made it clear to India that it has the right to retaliate to any such incident.

Islamabad stated that India has violated the Vienna convention for diplomatic relations.

In March of last year, high-level officials and staff of the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi said that they were being subjected to different kinds of harassment for the last three days.

A senior Pakistani officer was harassed when his vehicle was stopped in Chanakyapuri neighbourhood of the Indian capital and was left with no other option but to return to the high commission.

In another incident, children of Pakistan’s deputy high commissioner were stopped while going to school and their driver was harassed, said the sources, adding that two recent accidents involving vehicles of the high commission were also being considered as ‘deliberate acts’.

Source: The Express Tribune